


white sheets

by DailyMelody



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Hyuuga Neji Lives, Morning Cuddles, Post-War, just all around nejiten softness, neji lives and there's nothing kishi can do about it, small surprise at the end, takes place during the blank period, they're both so damn in love with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25344547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DailyMelody/pseuds/DailyMelody
Summary: She likes looking at him when he sleeps at night.He likes looking at her when he wakes up in the morning.
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Tenten
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	white sheets

**Author's Note:**

> a short lil nejiten drabble! i'm a sucker for fluff, and neji and tetnten deserve good things.

He always fall asleep before she does. She doesn’t mind, however. It gives her moments like these; when she can just look at him. The steady beat of his heart against her palm brings a sense of calm and peace to her busy mind.

She allows her gaze to roam over his face. Brown eyes take in the shape of his nose, the contours of his jaw and the slight furrow of his brows. Long, dark brown strands frame his features, they drape over broad shoulders and cascade down his back before spilling onto the mattress. Even in his sleep, Neji is the epitome of beauty and grace.

She has no idea how he does it.

Their curtains aren’t completely drawn, allowing a sliver of moonlight to spill into their bedroom. It illuminates parts of his face and he reminds her of a painting somehow. Beautiful, artistic, and breathtaking. Her hand still rests against his chest; his heartbeat still steady against her palm.

She had come so close to losing him.

Her gaze briefly flickers up towards his - now empty - forehead. The green seal he had been forced to wear for many years had disappeared during his brush with death. Nobody understood how.

Neji had been dead. But he came back to her. Somehow. 

Perhaps it was fate.

She smiles at the thought.

It’s almost as if he knows that she’s staring at him, because he turns around; his back now turned to her. She smiles and allows herself to look at his silhouette a little longer. She glances at the scars that litter his back; proof of a shinobi’s harsh life. They each tell a story. And she had been part of most of those stories. Her fingers brush over a thick, jagged line along his spine and he shifts again, mumbles something she can’t quite understand, and then falls silent once more. She swallows a chuckle and presses her lips briefly to the scar before sliding her arm around him.

With her forehead resting against his back, Tenten allows herself to finally close her eyes.

* * *

He always wakes up before she does.

It’s a habit. He likes to rise early and meditate while everyone is still asleep and the world is quiet. But today he allows himself to stay in bed a little longer.

She’s facing him, eyes still closed and lips parted slightly while her hand rests on top of his. Her hair is a mess of dark brown strands against white sheets, and he smiles at the sight of it. Sunlight peeks through the curtains, illuminating her sleeping form and creating a soft glow around her. He has never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. He allows himself to observe her for a moment. The volume of her lips, the length of her eyelashes, the roundness of her cheeks.

She chooses that moment to scrunch her nose and he smiles to himself.

His gaze drops to their hands and he observes hers. It fits so perfectly in his. Slender fingers, yet calloused palms from years of battle and handling weapons. One can tell how hard she works just by looking at the scars on her hands.

He brings the back of her hand to his mouth; lips softly pressed against her skin.

It’s been six years since the war, and four years since they have been together and yet he never tires of this moment.

Mornings like these are what he treasures the most. The silence, the peace; nothing but the two of them and white sheets. Her chest rises and falls with each breath and he wonders how he had gotten so lucky -- to exist in this very moment next to her. It almost didn’t happen. If the medical nin hadn’t managed to save him, this moment wouldn’t have existed. He still thinks about fate sometimes. This is one of those occasions.

She stirs and he doesn’t quite expect her to awaken, but she does. Brown eyes meet his gaze and she blinks slowly while a smile spreads across her lips. Her voice is quiet and a little raspy when she greets him; her touch gentle and soft when she cups his face. 

He leans into her touch when she brushes her thumb back and forth over his cheek. She pulls him towards her to capture his lips in a kiss. It’s short and sweet and he can feel her smiling against him. When she pulls away, she buries her face against his chest, breathing him in and allowing her fingers to trace invisible lines on his back. He tucks her head beneath his chin; his fingers threading through her hair.

When they pull apart, their gazes drop and Neji gently places a hand on the swell of her stomach. She covers his hand with her own, smiling at him so brightly and he feels warmth spreading through his chest at the thought of their future and what awaits them. 

She closes her eyes again and he does the same.

Maybe today he can sleep in.


End file.
